The first vehicle in this series, the 170 model , was produced in 1947 and marked the beginning of post-war production. It was followed by the 180 and 190 models, better known as the "Ponton Mercedes," starting in 1953. Followed by W110 , W114/115, W123 ,W124,W210 and W211 , with aggregate units produced exceeding 8 millions cars, E-class is undoubtedly the flag bearer, the life-line and the heart beat of Mercedes Benz ,all at once.

It all started in 1954, with the legendary Mercedes Benz 300SL Coupe, burst into this fertile market dominated by Big Three (GM,Ford,Chrysler).The SL was born! . It was almost immediately dubbed the "Gull Wing" because of its unusual upward opening doors. It was a car that fired the imagination of anyone with the slightest bit of competitive spirit. Here was a car with charisma - it looked fast standing still.

The M198 engine used in production of the 300SL develops 220 bhp at 5800 rpm. A racing camshaft was available as an option, which raised the output to 240 bhp at 6100 rpm.

You can say that it all started in the early 50s. At that time Mercedes released the first S-class generation. But there was no "S" in the name; the car was named "300 Adenauer" and its technical term was W168. The name, Adenauer because, among all the rich owners of this supreme quality automobiles was the German Konrad Adenauer. The car had high ceiling, which made it popular to "gentlemen with tall hats" (yes, Konrad Adenauer had one). In total, 11,000 W168 was manufactured.

The car was not modern, its design looked like a reminiscence from the 40s with its plump form. When W168 was replaced, which happened in 1968, its successors had already been in the market for three years. The successors, W111, W112 and W113, was called "the fin".

There's one aspect in which Mercedes will always be at the forefront, that no other car company in anyway can compete, the age.

This year marks the 171st anniversary of Karl Benz's birth, the 126th anniversary of Benz's first 2-stroke engine, the 121st anniversary of Benz's first 4-stroke engine, the 106th anniversary of the first auto race, in Paris, in which Gottlieb Daimler's engines figured heavily, and the 101st anniversary of W.K. Vanderbilt's world land speed record set at Ormond Beach, Fla., where he ran 91 mph in one of the earliest Mercedes cars.